1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automated warehouse for storing cartridge tapes of a magnetic or optical type which are used in a large computer of the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, in automated warehouses for storing cartridge tapes and having a robot which travels along rails and selectively takes a cartridge tape from a rack disposed beside the rails, the racks extend linearly or along an arcuate path.
However, since the linearly extending racks are rather long, they are difficult to install within a building because of pillars, and it is also difficult to expand the effective length of the rack due to certain restrictions. In addition, the rack extending in an arcuate path can be expanded only unit by unit. Moreover, since these racks in the prior art only define one row and the cartridge tapes are placed upright one-by-one on the rack just as books are placed upright on a book shelf, there are shortcomings in that the charging/discharging operations are laborious and the cartridge tapes are liable to fall from the rack due to earthquakes or the like.